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Change Management
The science side is the tactical side, driven by outstanding time managers who are detail-,
schedule- and task-oriented. These responsibilities capitalize on their strengths.
Project Management Regardless of the model, someone has to manage the timelines,
deliverables and due dates. This function is ideal for the scientist, who is an expert at getting
from point A to point B.
Task Master The scientist is the driver who keeps everyone on the team accountable and
makes sure no detail or deadline slips through the cracks. The scientist is also the person who
not only sends out the schedules, but also follows up with calls and e-mails to make sure the
task is completed. Scientists are essential in balancing the artists, who are thinking, evaluating
and questioning but sometimes not staying on task.
Divisions of Labor Whos on first? Whats on second? I thought YOU were doing that.
Successful change management means everyone clearly needs to understand who is
responsible for which tasks and who is accountable for their completion. This is particularly
critical for communications, training and other tactical measures that ensure the change is
accepted companywide.
Clear Divisions of Work Change, as a whole, can be overwhelming. The science side breaks
the whole into less-intimidating chunks and assigns these to work partners to streamline the
process.
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Modern art breaks down the perspectives we hold as truth and offers these back in a different
way. The same is true for the art side of the Buck model, designed to ensure that perspective
and feedback get back into the system so that the outcome works for the company and
accomplishes the ultimate goal.
Go to the Balcony So often in change management, we view whats going on from the
front row. This function makes sure someone steps back and gets the balcony perspective to
see what else is going on in the company. In other words, it prevents the change management
team from working in a vacuum.
Listen Although this seems obvious, many times, when change teams are in the middle of
deadlines and deliveries particularly if their bonuses are based on timelines they stop caring
about input. If someone in the organization says, This doesnt meet my needs, the artist on
the team says, Tell me how, and Ill make changes. Its critical for the artist to listen for the
hidden, underlying messages and communicate them back to the science part of the team so
that adjustments can be made.
Find the Real Problem Instead of responding tactically when problems arise, its important
to sift through the issues to uncover the real problem. For example, lets say a client signed
off on a plain vanilla implementation. Throughout the course of the implementation process,
a bevy of change orders keeps coming through. While, on the surface, it looks like the
implementation is flawed, what really happened is that management told the team to be
creative, so they continue to make changes. The real problem is that the original business case
is now invalid.
Be Brutally Honest People are polite, and traditional feedback mechanisms dont allow for
genuine honesty. The key is to recognize that being honest is not being judgmental: it is seeing
reality for what it actually is.
Ask Tough Questions The translation of this is: Be polite with a question mark at the end.
The idea is not just to ask probing questions but to change the lens in order to look at the
situation from all angles. Again, the artist is supplying the perspective.
Build Relationships The true artist understands the advantages of listening and letting
people know they are being heard and understood, which makes them more willing to work
together to find a solution, instead of digging in their heels.
As an example, a company was in the process of changing financial software, and the two
people in charge didnt like each other, creating a major divide. Their senior vice president
ordered them to have lunch together once a week for six weeks, on him. The only condition:
they were not allowed to talk about work or the project. The first time, they ate in total silence.
A few lunches into it, they decided to make the best of the situation and at least try to talk.
Before the six weeks were over, they went to the senior vice president and told him they had
broken the rule they had spent two hours talking about the project, brainstorming and
working on ways to make it go more smoothly. For the first time, they saw eye-to-eye, because
the artistic eye of the senior vice president forced them to create a relationship.
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